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Wednesday, January 16, 2008

OH MY GOD can you SAY Griswalds?

Remember the Chevy Chase movie, Vacation? Chase and family take off across country in the family truckster to go to Wally World, pick up his wifes grandmother on the way, and she dies along the way. They carry her body on to Arizona and leave her, in the rain, at her son's house, and continue on to California for their date with the Moose.

In an amazing situation where life imitates art, an Arkansas family has done something similiar, and grandma made the trip with them, deceased for most of the journey.

HILLSBORO -- An Arkansas family trying to fulfill an ailing grandmother's last request, arrived in Hillsboro early Sunday with the grandmother's body in the back of their recreational vehicle, police said.

The woman apparently died in Wyoming, and her family completed the trip.

The 79-year-old woman, who lived in Oroville, Calif., suffered from advanced kidney disease and wished to see her family before she died, Hillsboro Police Lt. Michael Rouches said.

Rouches said the woman's family picked her up in Oroville, drove her to visit family in Arkansas and were on their way to see other family in Hillsboro when she died.

The woman was last seen alive by the family about 3 a.m. Saturday near Laramie, Wyo., he said.

"We believe they were about 1,100 miles from Hillsboro when she passed away," Rouches said. "We believe they were in Wyoming. That's based on gas receipts."

Rouches said the woman's doctors told family members the frail grandmother might not survive the trip.

Hillsboro Police were called at about 9 a.m. Sunday.

Rouches stressed that the death was not a police matter, despite its seemingly unusual nature, because no law had been broken. Because it was not a police matter, Rouches did not release the woman's name.

I wonder if Christy Brinkley was driving along flirting with the father as they traveled down the highway?

Currently, police are investigating but at this point are not expecting to bring any criminal charges.